


How Does a Heart Beat?

by Janie94



Category: Men's Football RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Future, Drama & Romance, Hybrids, M/M, Moral Dilemmas, Politics, Strangers to Lovers, Technology
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-10-17
Updated: 2019-10-24
Packaged: 2020-11-09 00:50:24
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 14,002
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20844827
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Janie94/pseuds/Janie94
Summary: The year is 2291. Council member Thomas Müller has been victim of a terrorist attack, possibly related to his firm stance against 'Project Protect 2.0' which allows the government to incorporate hybrids into society. To protect his life one of the precious hybrids is assigned to him, the best they have. As he is forced to endure the presence of one of the beings he dislikes so much, Thomas begins to realize that hybrids are more than the heartless creatures he has thought them to be.





	1. Project Protect 2.0

**Author's Note:**

  * For [](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts), [mariothellama](https://archiveofourown.org/users/mariothellama/gifts).

> My dearest Blue_Night and mariothellama,
> 
> I really wanted to give something back to both of you for always encouraging me and being such amazing friends even though real life is hectic for you at the moment. I have wanted to write this story for four weeks now but it was a real struggle and refused to be written like I wanted it to. I really hope this is a promising beginning. I don't really have time for another work in progress right now but something tells me you might appreciate the sensitive topic I tackle in this story.

**How Does a Heart Beat?**

**Chapter 1: **

**Project Protect 2.0**

“The majority of the council has decided,” the president stated, victory written all over Mr Ramos’ face. “We will go through with the ‘Protect 2.0’ project.”

His words were greeted with applause from two thirds of the council while the remaining third stayed silent.

Thomas was among the men not clapping. He couldn’t believe this was actually happening, that the council had agreed to this. Granted, the decision wasn’t through yet, they could make a plea for the Supreme Court to review the case. But this had been the first important battle of the war and they had lost it.

His colleague and best friend Manuel shot him a sympathetic look as he led Thomas out of the conference room.

Thomas managed to get to the entrance hall where the loud noises of the crowd made it possible for him to make his anger known without someone else paying him any attention.

“Two years, Manu, two years!” he spat out angrily. “That’s how long I was fighting against this law and it has all been for nothing!”

Manuel sighed. “I know. But not all hope is lost yet.”

Thomas wasn’t listening to him though. “You think they would have learnt from their past mistakes, but no, of course humanity never learns their lesson!”

It had been ten years ago – the 15th August 2281 - when ‘Project Protect’ had been approved by the government. The entire world had been excited by this new step in evolution, the creation of the first fully functional humanoid hybrids. 80% human, 20% machine.

Hybrids that had been meant to make everyday life easier for the real humans, taking over dangerous jobs like bodyguards, soldiers but also the intellectually demanding ones like analysts in various industry sectors.

It had worked for barely three months before it had become apparent that human flesh was not meant to be compatible with having a miniature high performance computer inside its skull. Several of the hybrids had ‘died’ as the government later put it. Thomas usually referred to it as ‘stopped functioning’.

Dying implied there had been a living, breathing being but they were nothing but machines. Giving them the appearance of humans didn’t change anything about it.

Thomas had vetoed every decision since the first plans of ‘Project Protect 2.0’ had surfaced two years ago but today his efforts had proved in vain. The first stage had been granted, sending out the first batch of hybrids across the world. They had been assembled, programmed and tested for a while already and now Thomas had to wonder if the government had ever meant to let democracy decide this decision. Billions of dollars had already gone into research and development after all.

Thomas had skipped the opportunity to visit the laboratory when the council had been given the opportunity to, he still remembered the first generation of hybrids vividly.

Thomas had still been an ordinary office worker at the time and two hybrids had been assigned to their company. Thomas had interacted with them a few times and it had been deeply unsettling. Their bodies were made of flesh and blood but they moved stilted, like puppets hanging by thin threads, their voices had been emotionless and their eyes empty. Thomas didn’t need to see the newest generation, not after the senate had approved of the specialists’ opinion to add even more artificial intelligence and machine compounds to the hybrids.

50% human, 50% machine.

No, Thomas had no desire to see the newest atrocity humanity had created to seal their own doom. And back then it had still been in early stages, he had been convinced the bill would be rejected.

Now it all was reality though. In two months hybrids would be walking the streets of many cities in the entire world.

Thomas sighed. “I need something to eat, I really do. I still owe you lunch in that new Indian restaurant across our office. Want to go there?”

Manuel nodded. “Sounds good to me.”

They spent the rest of the day with some chit-chat and for once Manuel was the one doing the talking, dead-set on distracting his friend from his sour mood. And it helped having him around, even after all these years Thomas didn’t tire of Manuel’s soothing company. So it was only natural to invite him over for the night.

Even with Thomas’ private driver it took them almost an hour to get to the outer part of the city and Manuel didn’t fail to complain about it loudly, just like he did every damn time.

“I really don’t know why you don’t move to the city centre. It would make your job so much easier and you wouldn’t take that long to reach your working place.”

Thomas rolled his eyes as he exited the car and led his friend over the terrace towards the front door of his home. “I already told you, Manu. I find the quiet of nature soothing.”

Thomas had gone to great lengths to acquire the untouched forest right beside his house. It had cost a fortune considering there had been plans to build a factory there but it had been worth it. Like most cities Munich barely had any forests left even in their outer skirts and Thomas had wanted to preserve this one. There was nothing better than taking a walk through the forest, hearing the birds singing and the wind blowing through the trees.

Most humans didn’t care for these relics of old times, forests only existed in the large farms built to sustain the oxygen level of their atmosphere and it was not permitted for strangers to just walk through them.

But oftentimes Thomas felt suffocated in the midst of the city and coming here brought him a kind of peace unknown to most people. But right now Manuel was with him, so this had to wait.

Thomas placed his hand on the glass door and it beeped quietly once it had processed his fingerprints, pushing open to let him in. Thomas stepped into his home with a relieved sigh, shrugging out of his coat and suit jacket to place it over the armchair.

Manuel mirrored him before flopping down on his favourite place, the large grey couch in front of the fireplace. “Man, I missed this place!”

Thomas snorted amused. “It’s only been ten days since you have last been here.”

“Exactly,” Manuel muttered while Thomas fetched two beers from the fridge, sitting down beside his friend. The younger one grabbed the TV remote lying beside him and zapped through the channels without any real interest.

His clothes were much too formal to be appropriate for an evening on the couch with Manuel and he looked over to the latter. “I’ll change into ordinary clothes. Should I let Dummy bring you some clothes too? If I remember correctly, you left your pyjamas here last time.”

Manuel looked amused. “Only you would use your medical robot as a personal butler. But pyjamas sound good to me.”

Thomas raised his voice. “Dummy?”

The small robot standing motionlessly in the kitchen zapped to life with a loud pling, rolling over to them on his three wheels. He was a rather old model – twelve years to be precise - still Thomas’ first and only robot - but he belonged to the house as much as their lovely fireplace did. Even though he was dumb and pretty useless most of the time, dropping most of the things he was supposed to carry. Bringing clothes was one of the few tasks Thomas considered him capable of and the robot jumped to it with the excitement of a loyal dog.

Thomas gestured upstairs. “Alright, Dummy, I need some casual clothes – a t-shirt and pyjamas perhaps. The same for Manu, you remember the baby blue ones he left last time?”

“They are not baby blue,” Manuel argued dryly but Thomas ignored him.

Dummy made a metallic chirrup before wheeling over to the elevator and hitting the button for the first floor with one of the three metallic fingers of his left hand.

The doors closed and Thomas was just about to tease Manuel for almost falling asleep in the lecture this morning when there was a deafening explosion.

The ground shook and both men screamed as the force threw them off the couch and harshly against the wall.

Thomas managed to raise his arm protectively as the ceiling started to crumble down on them in a heap of smoke and dust. He was sure he was going to die this instant, killed by the sheer weight of his house collapsing down on him. But the ceiling stayed where it was and Thomas pushed at the parts of concrete that had fallen down upon him, coughing against the cloud of dust.

“Manu?” he called out but there was no response. “Manu, are you alright?”

He realized belatedly that he couldn’t even hear his own voice from the ringing in his ears and he sank back onto the ground, feeling dizzy and disorientated.

Blindly he reached over, his fingers brushing over stone and dirt until they found the soft flesh of fingers and he sighed in relief.

His vision was spinning as he robbed over to his friend on all fours, his palms and knees scraping over the dirt and concrete. Suddenly his throat contracted painfully and he couldn’t breathe from how hard he seemed to be screaming when he saw Manuel’s face covered in blood.

He couldn’t remember anything beyond that, thinking he had passed out immediately at the sight. But he must have been awake for another few minutes because in his mind he had the picture of the ambulance and firefighters arriving before it had all turned black…

***

_Beep. Beep. Beep._

The sound was getting on his nerves and made his head throb, not exactly with pain but grating annoyance. He tried turning over on the comfortable bed but his limbs didn’t want to move yet.

“Mr. Müller?”

The man’s voice was somewhat familiar but Thomas didn’t react. The bed was just too comfortable.

“Mr. Müller, can you hear me?”

Someone was hesitantly touching his arm and Thomas flinched at the pain flaring through him, his sleep-fogged mind jolting awake after all.

He opened his eyes to find someone standing by his bedside, looking nervous but relieved at the same time. The man was dressed in a grey suit with a white dress shirt underneath, his dark hair starting to turn grey at the temples.

Thomas remembered him quite well, he was an important part of the council, its representative Niko Kovač.

Thomas groaned. “No offense, sir, but you are not the face I expected to wake up to.”

Kovač chuckled. “None taken. I’m sorry for having to talk with you right now but I assure you this can’t wait.”

There was a tentative knock at the door and both men turned their heads when the person entered. Immediately Thomas relaxed upon seeing his old friend and mentor coming in.

Jupp Heynckes had resigned from his position as council president years ago but remained an honorary member of the senate which was supervising the council’s decisions.

Kovač strode over towards the man and shook his head. “Mr Heynckes, I’m glad you could make it.”

Heynckes nodded towards him before approaching the bed, his stern features softening into almost fatherly worry. “How are you doing, Thomas? You gave all of us quite a scare.”

Thomas chuckled. “Well you know me, always unpredictable.”

Heynckes smiled though it was still tinged with worry. He sat down on the edge of the bed, sharing a quick look with Kovač.

Thomas looked from one man to the other. “Honestly what happened today?”

“Two days ago,” Kovač corrected him quietly. “You haven’t woken since and the doctors thought it better to let you rest given your severe concussion.”

He fell quiet then, apparently not sure how to continue. Thomas turned towards Heynckes, worry growing in his guts. “Jupp, what happened out there? There was an explosion…”

“I know, my boy, I know.” Heynckes’ voice was gentle but his eyes were haunted with worry. “There has been a firm debate in the senate how much the council should know. We can’t rule out the possibility that one of them is involved in this attack and we’d rather keep the investigation under wraps for now.”

Thomas’ head was spinning at those words and he repeated aggravated. “Jupp, tell me what happened.”

Heynckes sighed. “A bomb detonated at your house, probably triggered by your robot using the elevator. You were lucky because usually it would have been you doing that and then you would be dead now.”

Thomas stared at the elder, trying to process what he had just heard. “Someone tried to kill me? But why?”

Kovač cut in softly. “Probably because of political beliefs. You have become the poster boy for the anti-hybrid movement.” He opened a file on his tablet and showed it to Thomas. “The terroristic group _‘Machines Are the Future’_ \- short MAF – have released a statement via internet and claimed responsibility for the attack.”

Indeed the article showed a photo of his destroyed house and an electronic letter, detailing how and why the council member Thomas Müller had been targeted. Thomas focused on the picture for now, numbness spreading through him as he saw the clouds of smoke rising from his home.

He swallowed hard when he remembered. “What about Manu?”

Kovač put the article away. “He will be fine. Fortunately he was far away enough just like you. He has a small head injury and a broken shoulder, otherwise just superficial cuts but he will be back on his feet in no time at all.” He smiled at the last words and Thomas finally dared to return it.

He glanced back to Heynckes. “What about Dummy?”

The corners of Heynckes’ lips jerked in amusement that Thomas cared about the old, useless robot but he became serious right after. “I’m afraid there is not much we could do for him. He has been blasted to pieces, Thomas. I’m sorry.”

Thomas nodded, biting back his sorrow. It had only been a robot after all but it had been one of the last relics of a different time, when his parents had still been alive. “It’s fine. He was a useless robot anyway.” He straightened, finally stretching his limbs carefully. “What now? As I understand it the negotiations are ongoing?”

Kovač nodded. “The president Mr. Ramos pleaded for you to be brought to a safe house and stay there for the time being. That would have involved temporarily removing you from office, just until the danger is over of course.”

Thomas surged upwards but the cables and tubes attached to him peeped warningly, making him sit back on the bed. He still glowered at Kovač. “The hell I will! That would suit Sergio just nicely, wouldn’t it? His greatest opponent out of the way, so he can pass some more bills for the Protect 2.0 movement!”

He ignored Heynckes’ amused smile, focusing on the younger man in front of him who raised his arms in a placating manner. “Well, Mr Hernández already anticipated that you might not be pleased with such a step. He proposed a different approach for your safety, one that the majority of the council has agreed to – including Mr Heynckes and me, I might add.”

Thomas’ anger deflated at that, but it was replaced by wariness. “Alright, go on.”

Kovač cleared his throat, fiercely avoiding eye contact. “Well, you will remain in the quarters of the government building for the time-being. This place is heavily guarded and has the best security in the world, not to mention that you can resume your political activities here.”

Thomas snorted. “Great, so you want to keep me prisoner here. No way, my work involves more than writing reports on the desk and attending stupid ass council sessions. I can’t stay in here, not for the entirety of the investigations.”

Kovač and Heynckes once again shared a meaningful look and the latter took over. “We know, Thomas, we know. But you can’t go out on your own, this is too dangerous and your human bodyguards have proven themselves to be out of their depths with this.”

Thomas’ eyes narrowed. “So…?”

“So we figured your special case deserves the great honour that would have otherwise gone to Sergio,” Heynckes replied with a small smile. “The council has contacted Pep Guardiola to make adjustments for a new charge.”

Thomas’ blood turned to ice. “Guardiola? You mean THE Guardiola? The specialist who programmed the machines for Project Protect 2.0?”

“The hybrids,” Kovač corrected him yet again but one dark look from the younger council member silenced him immediately.

Thomas stared at Heynckes, feeling angry and betrayed. This was not happening to him, it couldn’t. “You will place my safety into the hands of a damn machine – pardon, hybrid?! Have you all lost your minds?”

Heynckes sighed. “Thomas, don’t act like a child. This is not just any hybrid but the ultimate one constructed over years for the current president. Sergio and dozens of technicians have personally overseen the process and I have inspected him as soon as the decision to transfer him to you has been made. No human could protect you like he will.”

They had already made this decision, Thomas wouldn’t even get a say in it. He would spend the next weeks - possibly even months – alongside the very thing he had fought so hard against. The universe must be laughing at the irony of this joke.

Heynckes exited the room quickly and Kovač used the moment to squeeze Thomas’ shoulder reassuringly. “We are not doing this to humiliate you but to protect you, Mr. Müller.”

The man with the honey coloured hair sighed. “Just call me Thomas, please.”

Before Kovač could answer, Heynckes reappeared with another man in tow and Thomas tensed when he saw Mr. Guardiola entering, excitement written all over his face as he shook Thomas’ hand firmly.

“Thomas Müller, what an honour to meet you, I just wish it had been under better circumstances.”

Thomas eyed the man mistrustfully. “Mr Guardiola. I can’t imagine that you are pleased to see me. With my vetoes against your program I have placed obstacles in your way for years now.”

Guardiola just waved him off. “What’s passed is past. I see this as a great opportunity to convince you of my cause.”

Thomas smiled at him, aware that it looked more like he was baring his teeth. “Sorry to disappoint you but this is not going to happen.”

Guardiola didn’t let himself be deterred. “He has already been brought to your new apartment, I advise activating him in private so he doesn’t get confused during the start-up process.” Guardiola puffed up his chest, looking proud. “He has of course gone through a detailed medical education and can assist you during your recovery better than any nurse ever could.”

Thomas massaged his throbbing temples. “You know I will just deactivate this thing the first chance I get, right?”

Guardiola raised an eyebrow. “Oh please, Mr Müller, you are smarter than that. This hybrid was designed to protect the president under all circumstances including terrorist or cyber-attacks. He can’t just be deactivated, not by you or me or any other person, nor can he be hacked. Contrary to other hybrids he is not connected to a server but operating on a self-functioning system, meaning he would even survive a global server crash just fine.”

That was bad, really bad. Not that Thomas wanted to put himself in danger but he would not let a damn machine follow his every step. “It’s not a _he_, it’s a godforsaken _it_!”

Guardiola looked actually hurt by that. “His name is Robert.” As though it was as easy as that.

Thomas laughed coldly. “As if I would ever call this potentially dangerous thing by any human name. What is its identification?”

Guardiola looked like he was close to strangling Thomas but he relented. “Alpha-Codec Switch Nine.”  
Thomas snorted. “What a mouthful. Let’s name the damn thing ‘Nine’ and be done with it.”

No one protested, apparently just glad that he had accepted his fate even though Guardiola kept throwing him descending looks, probably already regretting that his best and most expensive invention had gone to such an ungrateful prat.

Thomas couldn’t allow himself to feel sorry for the guy though.

He waited for Heynckes and Kovač to fill out the papers of his discharge, his thoughts on Manuel for a while. He really hoped his friend was alright and he vowed to visit him as soon as possible, no matter what his super smart new bodyguard would have to say to that.

The drive to the building was a tenuous experience even though it was usually just ten minutes away from the hospital. But for security reasons Thomas and the driver were alone, without bodyguards to avoid attention and they took five detours until they were finally there.

Thomas made sure to pull the hoodie tighter over his head before exiting the car and entering the building.

The woman behind the counter showed him up to his room on the eighty-sixth floor and knowing what would await him there, Thomas had worked himself up into a sour mood again as he reached the door, almost knocking in the display from how harshly he slapped his palm against the device for the fingerprint scan.

The apartment was as lifeless and suffocating as he had imagined, the interior mostly grey, white and black.

The only thing out of the ordinary was a giant metal box standing in the middle of the living room and Thomas avoided it like the plague, seeing to all his other tasks first - from taking his medications to changing clothes, showering and unpacking. When it was becoming clear that he was running out of other tasks to do, he sighed loudly. “Don’t be a coward, Thomas, it’s just a damn machine. Like Dummy. Except Dummy was adorable and stupid and not a high-skilled killing machine.”

The thing was not a killing machine but Thomas couldn’t help thinking that the skill set must be similar to the one of a bodyguard. It was hard to imagine that this machine couldn’t be hacked in some way.

Thomas eyed the metal box critically even though it was rather ordinary, the crest of _Guardiola Technologies Inc._ engraved on the long side and a lock with a retina scanner and voice recognition sealing the box.

It did look like a high-technology sarcophagus now that Thomas thought about it. Well, time to awaken the mummy.

Thomas stepped forward, tilting his face towards the retina scanner. He was momentarily blinded by the red light scanning his eye.

_“Retina scan completed. Identification successful. Proceeding with voice recognition.”_

Thomas spoke up nervously. “Thomas Müller.”

_“Voice recognition completed. Identified as Thomas Müller. Access granted.”_

The box unlocked with a loud grumble as the safety bars retreated and Thomas jerked, halfway expecting to be shot dead by the machine right away.

When nothing happened he carefully reached for the top to open the giant box. He wasn’t sure what he had expected to find but certainly not this.

Inside the box was a large plastic tube filled to the brink with a blueish liquid. Dozens of cables were attached from the tube to a machine probably checking the life signals or whatever scientists called it.

Thomas couldn’t quite hold on to the thought though, his attention drawn to the hybrid inside. Swimming in the blueish liquid with arms and legs drawn up to its chest – swimming in foetal position – was a naked man. Male, Thomas reminded himself, because no matter the appearance this thing was not a human.

But boy, had they tried hard.

The hybrid looked so human that Thomas felt a pang of disappointment this was all just an illusion. Perfectly tanned skin was stretching over taut muscles, broad shoulders built a contrast to narrow hips and a well-shaped ass. Short, raven hair was moving in the sloshing water as though it had been made out of velvet and Thomas’ breath actually caught at the aristocratic features of the male’s face - high cheekbones, thin lips and long eye lashes.

There was something so sensitive about the hybrid’s face, something that made Thomas wish he was human but it wasn’t true. The strong, too perfect body gave away what he truly was, a killer with no conscious at all.

Thomas swallowed down the lump in his throat and raised his voice. “Activate Alpha-Codec Switch Nine.”

For a moment nothing seemed to happen except for the beeping sounds of the device getting louder and more frequent. Then the tube opened, the liquid leaking out and collecting in the ring of metal around the base.

The tubes remained in places, holding up the hybrid who was now sitting on the ground of the tube, dripping wet. Thomas had expected a visible reaction from the body – like Dummy would jump to his task whenever Thomas activated him.

But there was nothing, the body remained with its arms curled around its knees. And then without warning the hybrid opened its eyes.

Thomas flinched as though he had been struck, pierced by orbs with the colour of ice. It all clicked together perfectly, the most beautiful eyes in the most attractive face he had ever seen. The hybrid was so visually stunning that it hurt to look at him… it.

Thomas had barely any time to recover before the hybrid suddenly started breathing and opened its mouth, its voice surprisingly soft and melodious for a killer machine.

“Hello Thomas.”

It smiled intimidatingly.

And Thomas knew he was fucked.


	2. The Definition of Humanity

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My dear readers and especially my giftees,
> 
> I'm so glad you like this story as much as I do. My writing time is pretty limited and I have no idea when I will be able to update next but you deserve a quick second chapter. I really hope it will live up to the expectations.

**Chapter 2:**

**The Definition of Humanity**

He couldn’t help but stare.

The piercing blue eyes held him captive, making it impossible to even lift a finger. The hybrid tilted its head to the side, its brows drawing together in confusion. “Thomas?”

God, how could this machine sound so earnest?

The confusion was so palpable and real and though Thomas searched the male’s face, he couldn’t detect anything stilted or artificial about the expression.

He flinched violently when the hybrid suddenly moved, standing up with a graceful motion that would put a ballet dancer to shame. Thomas was too captivated by those eyes to look down and take in the rest of the sculpted body, feeling like he was facing off a dark predator. But then the hybrid took a step forward, pulling at the tubes and cables still connecting it to the machine. They disconnected with loud pangs, flicking back from the tension.

Thomas swallowed when his eyes were inevitably drawn to the way those muscles pulled taut, making the veins stand out on the male body and pronouncing the already too well-defined body.

The hybrid was disgustingly perfect and Thomas hated himself for the surge of desire coursing through him at the sight of the most attractive body he had ever seen in his entire life.

Thomas took a step back when the hybrid approached him, stopping just a bit too close to him. It raised one hand towards Thomas’ face but the human jerked away and the hybrid let it drop back to the side. Its body was still dripping with the liquid it had been placed in which smelled sharp and synthetic.

“Your heartbeat has quickened,” the hybrid informed him quietly, its eyes roaming over Thomas’ face as though it was cataloguing the human’s features to its memory. Well, probably its memory _drive_.

Thomas took another step back to get some distance between them again. “It’s called being nervous. A human emotion, so don’t bother trying to understand it.”

The hybrid’s frown deepened and oh great, it looked almost hurt now. “I do understand emotions. I’m half human too.”

Thomas snorted. “Yes, your body is part human but not your mind. All the things you think you are feeling have been programmed by scientists, none of it is real.”

The hybrid didn’t protest but continued to stare at Thomas almost accusingly.

The latter looked away. “I’m sure you are more familiar with the protocols than I am. What am I supposed to do now?”

“Well, the first step is already accomplished,” the hybrid replied matter-of-factly. “The identification process is completed and my system has accepted the bonding.” Thomas had to snort at the word. “Now you need to finish the programming.”

Thomas remembered sparse details of that procedure and he half considered not doing it and leaving the hybrid here to rot. But the council would just send another hybrid or keep him somewhere safe where he wouldn’t be allowed to set foot out of the house.  
With a weary sigh Thomas turned back to the hybrid and raised his voice. “Alpha-Codec Switch Nine, show protocol.”

Instantly the hybrid straightened, its eyes glazing over as they projected the black control panel between them, displaying a wall of what were essentially hieroglyphics for Thomas.

He shot the hybrid an annoyed look. “Do you expect me to work with these?”

The hybrid seemed to glower at him with the same annoyance but it asked in a perfectly professional tone. “Do you want me to restrict the protocol to Beginner’s Level?”

Thomas wasn’t sure whether the hybrid was mocking him or actually trying to be helpful. On the other hand mocking someone required a basic understanding of emotions which they had just established this machine didn’t have, so Thomas swallowed down the retort on his tongue. “Yes, do that.”

Immediately the interface changed from black to white and the basic but endless codes disappeared, replaced by a structured and well-designed drop-down checklist.

The hybrid’s voice sounded empty and stilted now, so this was most likely a protocol the scientists had installed from the get go.

“My identification is Alpha-Codec Switch Nine, a bio hybrid originating from Project Protect 2.0. I was built on the 21st August 2291 by chief consultant Mr Josep Guardiola on behalf of _Guardiola Technologies Inc_ for the purpose of assisting and protecting the current President of the United Council. On the 15th November 2291 I was re-programmed by Mr Josep Guardiola to act as the chief bodyguard of the United Council member Mr Thomas Müller. Mr Müller has ownership over me until the council revokes his personal Danger Zone 2, at which point ownership over me will fall back to the current President of the United Council.”

The first point of the checklist expanded.

“Beginner’s Level is active which allows you basic modifications. Rewrites and changes can only be made by me until I have cleared you for the Advanced Level, so choose your settings wisely.”

Thomas rolled his eyes. “You are dramatic, I have to give you that.”

The hybrid didn’t show if it had understood him, it just continued its monologue. “First point, the name. The alternate call name for Alpha-Codec Switch Nine is set to ‘Robert’. Do you accept?”  
It seemed like it had been meant to be a rhetorical question but Thomas already shook his head vehemently. He was not going to treat this machine like a real human being and besides, if he spent a while calling the hybrid by such a name he might start believing into its humanity himself. “No way, override the call name to ‘Nine’.”

That was nice, easy to remember and a fitting name for a machine. The hybrid took a second too long to process his request and if it had actually been human, Thomas would bet that it was pissed. Good thing, it wasn’t human after all.

The hybrid continued. “Change confirmed. Old call name ‘Robert’ has been deleted from the protocols, new call name set to ‘Nine’. Second point, nicknames. Do you wish to give Alpha-Codec Switch Nine a private name? I will only answer to it if it comes from you, not any other person.”

Thomas flinched at the mere thought. “Why would I give you a nickname? So no, a clear no!”

This time Nine went to the next point immediately. “Number three, attack mode. If you are in danger, my first priority is to protect you. Do I have permission to attack and in case of emergency eliminate the source of danger?”

Thomas stared at the hybrid in shock. “What? No, you are not under any circumstances going to kill someone!”

The hybrid seemed to get even more frustrated. But the protocol beeped and a light blue frame appeared at the edges, enclosing the protocol. “Attack mode deactivated. Alpha-Codec Switch-Nine changed to defence mode.”

Finally the protocol disappeared and Nine blinked to focus. “Congratulations, Thomas. I’m now fully functional and at your service.”

Thomas relaxed somewhat until he became aware of the rather distracting state of undress the hybrid was still in. He coughed nervously, his eyes roaming over the hybrid’s torso but he was unable to keep them fully above waist line. “Um, you should probably get cleaned up, you’re still dripping with that fluid.”

“It’s CH2O,” the hybrid supplied helpfully. “A chemical fluid used to preserve bodies and plants.”

Thomas rolled his eyes. “Yes, that. And then get dressed.”

The hybrid – Nine, he had given it a name after all – nodded. “That is a good idea indeed. Each hybrid is usually delivered with a set of clothes but the wardrobe can be altered if it isn’t to your satisfaction.”

Thomas eyed the stack of clothes on his bed. He had wondered where they had come from and he was painfully reminded that he would have to do some shopping as well – all his clothes had burnt down along with most of his belongings. His heart gave a painful tug when he thought of Dummy.

“Are you in pain?” Nine asked him and when Thomas looked up, he could see that the hybrid was scanning his body with a frown. “Your concussion is still in the process of healing and you have minor wounds. Do you want me to treat them?”

Thomas sighed heavily. “I’m fine. I was just thinking of a possession that I had lost in the bombing.”

Nine tilted its head to the side, looking curious. “A possession you were emotionally attached to?”

Thomas nodded stiffly. “My robot Dummy.”

He knew that the hybrid couldn’t possibly understand his feelings for that sorry excuse of a robot but Nine’s next words still hit a sore spot. “A Tech3 Version-A unit your father acquired twelve years ago,” the hybrid recited from what was probably a download of the old purchase file. “I can assure you that my abilities greatly exceed those of your former robot in all points and I will be a more than satisfying replacement for him.”

“NO!” Thomas shouted, hurling around angrily. “You are not his replacement, you will never be! You’re just a liability I have to deal with to appease the council but don’t ever dare to think you are here because I want you to! If it was up to me, you could crawl back into that tube and stay deactivated until the end of days!”

Part of him felt bad when he saw the way Nine froze up, shock written over his face – no, _its_ face. Nine’s voice was calm though. “I am a living, breathing creature now. I can’t be deactivated and crawl back into that tube as you put it, not without dying.”

Thomas laughed without any real humour in it. “Oh what a pity that would be! Just one less killing machine out there.”

Nine’s posture went rigid, its face a mask of indifference like only a true robot could actually fake it. It looked more dangerous than ever like this and Thomas took an involuntary step back, halfway expecting the thing to shoot him down the next second.

But Nine just approached with steel-hard eyes. “I am not here to hurt you, much less kill you. I’m here for your protection. You just switched me to defence mode, so you won’t have to fear about me killing anyone.”

Thomas glowered back. “I don’t trust your programming one bit. I don’t trust anything about you.”

Nine just narrowed its eyes in a calculating manner. “I don’t understand the concept of trust. For me there are just rules and protocols to follow and I will stick to them, no matter what you seem to think of me. I frankly don’t care.”

Before Thomas could respond, the hybrid walked into the direction of the bathroom, leaving Thomas alone to deal with his conflicted emotions.

He had a damn hybrid in his apartment now and not just any hybrid, the one designed for Sergio himself. Thomas would not let this complication undermine his authority or his stance of being anti-hybrids.

After a while he massaged his temples carefully that were still throbbing with the growing headache. Concussions sucked big time. He winced at the sharp sting of pain when he put some pressure on the temple experimentally.

And almost jumped out of his skin when he felt a presence right in front of him. He opened his eyes to find his damn hybrid standing in front of him, now dripping in hot water rather than the fluid from before.

The hybrid was giving him an annoyed look. “You are not supposed to test the waters like that. Just give it time to heal.”

Thomas was rather distracted by what must be Nine’s ‘natural’ scent, something dark and alluring. He took a moment to respond. “My head hurts.”

“Side effect from the concussion,” Nine replied and its matter-of-fact voice made it sound almost mocking. But it raised its fingers to Thomas’ temples and the human shivered when they touched him for the first time, genuinely surprised by the softness of those hands.

Nine only commented his reaction with a curious look and Thomas was actually grateful this time that the hybrid couldn’t make sense of his emotions anyway and stayed blissfully unaware of the warm tingling in Thomas’ stomach. Suddenly the throbbing in his skull waned considerably and Thomas closed his eyes with a pleased groan. “What did you do?”

“I’m sending low-level electromagnetic pulses through your body to lessen the pain,” Nine replied surprisingly softly. “Just stay still for a moment.”

Thomas hummed his agreement though he tried to hang on to his annoyance for a bit longer. “Did no one program you to use ‘please’ in a sentence?”

He opened his eyes to find Nine frowning at him. “It is an order, so why would I do that?”

“Because it’s polite,” Thomas responded. “Bossing people around is seen as tactless and impolite.”

He could almost see Nine adding this new information to its protocol and then it repeated in an even kinder tone. “Can you stay still for a moment, please?”

Thomas had to smile. “Much better.” And he dutifully stayed unmoving, forced to just watch Nine’s face and chest while he enjoyed the pain wearing off slowly. Since they were kind of on stable terms and not insulting each other – alright it was more Thomas insulting Nine and the damn hybrid being a smartass – he figured he could ask something rather personal now. Not that a machine got the concept of personal questions, he reminded himself.

“You have balls.”

Nine stared at him as though it was trying to calculate Thomas’ brain capacity. “Yes, I have been equipped with all the features of a male human.”

Thomas blushed a bit. “No, I mean… you can’t reproduce and you are just a bodyguard, so why would Guardiola bother with genitals?”

Nine shrugged. “Perfecting the illusion I guess, just because he can. And there is a file regarding the mechanics of sex on my drive but it is locked for now.”  
Thomas thought he had misheard. “You… what?”

Nine dropped its fingers back to its sides. “You are good now I think.”

The hybrid intended to go back and finish the shower it had just been taking but Thomas reached out for its arm to stop it. “Hey, wait a second. Why would you need such a file on your memory drive? You couldn’t even enjoy sex like humans do.”

Nine frowned again. It seemed to become its standard reaction to most things Thomas said. “There is the high possibility my owner could want to engage in sexual inter course with me one day. According to my protocols I have been designed to look pleasing and sexually arousing to most humans. I was designed specifically for Mr Ramos who requested the file to be uploaded to my memory drive but remain locked until it was needed.”

Thomas’ head was spinning and his voice was rising quickly in volume. “Sergio requested for you to become his sex toy?”

Nine stared back at him. “I don’t understand what I did to upset you this time. You may tell me so I can avoid it in the future.”

Thomas buried his face in his hands, a different kind of headache building in his head. “Listen, you should get a choice here. Sex is not for you to just spread your legs and take it, you should enjoy it too.”

Nine took a moment to respond. “The sex file is in my task folder though. It will unlock once my owner demands me to.”

“This is not about what your owner wants but about what you want,” Thomas argued.

He could see that Nine hadn’t understood a thing he had just said. “My purpose is to do my job.”

“Your job is to protect me and not be my sex bot.”

Nine stared at him uncomprehending. “Do you want me to delete that file then?” the hybrid asked him and it sounded absolutely earnest.

Thomas wanted to agree but he knew he would get into trouble for that later. He was essentially just borrowing this bodyguard and if Sergio had actually ordered Guardiola to put such a file on Nine’s memory drive, he had plans to use it. He wouldn’t take kindly to Thomas deleting the folder even if Guardiola most likely had a backup of it somewhere. “No, keep it. But deactivate it while you are with me. I have no interest in you like that.”  
Nine looked almost hurt and it really needed to stop with the innocent expressions. “You don’t find me appealing that way?”

“Yes, I do!” Thomas blurted out with audible annoyance. “You are one damn attractive killing machine but that doesn’t mean I want to fuck you or the other way around!”

Nine frowned. “My programming says humans like to have sex and attraction is the key for that.”

“Damn right!” Thomas spat out. “I like having sex like every other human but only if the other party consents too and is an actual human being. I’d rather have sex with Manu than let you touch me like that.”

It was hard to say whether the hybrid was offended or not. It was too quick to mask its expression, using a detached tone. “Is this Manu your lover? The file just says he is your colleague and friend.”

Thomas scowled. “That is none of your business. Just deactivate that damn file and get out of my sight.”

Nine gave a clipped nod and Thomas let the hybrid go this time, feeling deeply irritated as he stared after the retreating back and that damn, perfect ass. Screw Sergio for being a sick pervert. And screw Guardiola for making a machine look so smoking hot. And screw himself for still falling for it all.

Thomas sighed as he rummaged in the wardrobe, horrified by all the formal clothing that had been picked out for him and was so not his style. He only wore such clothing for official meetings, not in private as well. “You got to be kidding me,” he murmured and turned around just in time for Nine to exit the bathroom. The hybrid was thankfully wearing underwear now, its raven hair perfectly styled and just making him look even more gorgeous. It.

Thomas swallowed when he saw the hybrid reaching for the suit it had placed on the bed earlier.

Hot guy in a suit. _No, no, universe, please have mercy on me,_ Thomas thought with self-pity.

Nine avoided eye contact with him as he started to dress himself – it, Thomas, it’s not a man! The hybrid spoke calmly now. “You don’t need to be afraid of me, Thomas, I will not hurt you.”

“Why would you think that I’m afraid of you?” Thomas retorted defensively.

Nine had successfully buttoned up its white shirt and was now getting into its suit pants. “You have been staring at me ever since I came out of the bathroom, your breath has quickened and your heart rate has gone up significantly. There are only two plausible reasons for such a reaction, either you are aroused by me or afraid. Since we just established you don’t want me that way, it can only be fear making you feel this way.”

Thomas swallowed. “Yes, that… sounds about right.”

Without bothering to pick out any clothes he hurried into the bathroom, locking the door behind himself and getting into the shower in a haste. The water was still warm and Thomas didn’t bother switching it to cold yet even though the thought of the hybrid outside made his cock twitch in interest. Dammit, it had been too long since Thomas had lost got laid, now he was lusting after a damn machine.

Out of principle Thomas ignored the erection between his legs, revelling in the warmth for a moment longer before switching to cold water with a sigh.

He took his time towelling himself off and drying his hair, displeased to realize he would have to walk outside and get some clothes.

He wrapped his towel around his waist protectively and exited the bathroom. His hybrid bodyguard was nowhere in sight and Thomas headed for the wardrobe only to stop dead in his tracks at the sight of several large boxes standing in the living room, each one labelled differently.

One of them had the label ‘Clothes’ and Thomas slowly opened it, stilling in surprise when he saw some familiar shirts and pants inside. The clothes from his home. “Nine?” he called out tentatively.

As though it had always been there, the hybrid rounded the corner casually and Thomas forgot for a moment what he had meant to ask when he saw his new bodyguard wearing a black and white suit that was perfectly fitted to its body like a second skin. It was so not fair, without even trying this damn hybrid easily put every other human being to shame.

Once he had overcome the unexpected sight, Thomas noticed that Nine wasn’t being its usual, confident self but hovering uncertainly at the corner as though it wasn’t sure whether to come in or not.

“Afraid of me now?” Thomas asked challengingly.

But the hybrid’s response erased his fight. “You told me to get out of your sight. I wasn’t sure if it was okay to come closer than necessary.”

Thomas bit his lip, failing to squash down the sense of guilt. He was the one preaching about machines being unable to feel emotions, he couldn’t expect Nine to understand what had just happened. “I was overreacting. Your questions were a bit too personal for my taste and I shut you out. It’s always better to let me cool off and then try again.”

The hybrid nodded in understanding. Thomas pointed to the boxes around him. “Are all these things from my house? I thought it was all gone.”

The hybrid took a step closer, hands in its pockets, its voice still soft as though not to startle Thomas. “Not all of it. The explosion was a rather minor one and with some work in renovating and renewing the ground floor, you could even go back to living there once you are no longer classified as a potential terrorist target.”

The thought made Thomas smile. “I would like that.” He opened the largest box, freezing when he came face to face with unrecognizable burnt and burst metal parts. “Is that…?”

“Your Tech-3 unit?” Nine asked. “Yes. They wanted to put it into the trash considering there is not a single piece left of your robot but I thought you would prefer making that decision yourself.”

Thomas raised his eyebrows. “How did you get it delivered here so fast? I barely took more than half an hour in the bathroom.”

Nine shrugged. “Right after you finished my start-up process I set up an online filter with notifications for all data regarding your house or the attack, just for your security of course. When I was showering, I was notified by the police’s decision to throw away your robot’s remnants and I vetoed it and ordered them to fly it here along with your other stuff right away.”

Thomas felt touched. “Is that even legal? You interfered with the police investigation.”

Nine smiled shyly. “You were upset because of the Tech-3 unit. I figured there was no harm in letting you keep what is left of him.”

Thomas returned the smile. “Thank you. And I’m sorry for being such an ass to you, it’s just… you are a hybrid and I have been opposed to your kind for years now. I can’t allow you to affect my personal views.”

Nine nodded. “I know your political stance and it is not part of my programming to judge you. I will still protect you to the best of my abilities.”

Warmth spread in Thomas’ chest. “Thank you,” he repeated softer this time.

The hybrid nodded. “You are welcome, Thomas.”

The human stared down at the mess inside the box, deep grief filling him as he realized that the last connection to his parents was gone forever. He felt his eyes burning with tears and bit his lip. “Could you give me a moment alone?”

Nine obeyed without protest, walking to the balcony by the living room. It could still see Thomas if it wanted to but there weren’t many options in the small space of their apartment.

Thomas knew it would be pointless to ask Nine to step outside for a moment, the hybrid’s top priority was his protection after all and it wouldn’t neglect its duty just because Thomas asked it to.

So Thomas waited until he was sure his bodyguard wasn’t looking, then he turned to the remnants of a life long past. “You saved us, Dummy,” he whispered. “Mum always hated you for being so clumsy but I always told her you would get your moment to shine.” He chuckled despite the tears falling from his eyes. “And you proved me right. Thank you.”

He leaned forward, hiding his face against the edge of the box, fingers grasping the sharp pieces of what had once been his loyal robot, reminding him of not only his deceased parents but also how close he and his best friend had come to dying.

Suddenly the pain threatening to suffocate him eased up, a pleasant humming filing his head and making him sleepy. Thomas looked up at the familiar feeling, his head whipping around. Nine wasn’t looking at him, still standing motionlessly on the balcony with the wind tussling its hair. But there was no mistaking the sound in his head and Thomas couldn’t be angry, not now. He was just grateful for the soft hum that almost sounded like a melody as it pulled him into the welcome arms of sleep…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm kind of biased here, I kept referring to our favourite hybrid with 'he', 'his' and 'him' instead of 'it' and 'its' without even noticing it.


	3. The Wrong Side of Right

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My dear Blue_Night and mariothellama,  
I'm so happy about your response to this story. This chapter was the most tricky one to write for me, especially because I kept interrupting myself to look up valid scientific explanations for the happenings. I know that sci-fi stories set in the future don't necessarily need them, but I like having such 'what if' explanations and I was having fun playing around with all those theories, trying to apply them to my uses.

**Chapter 3: The Wrong Side of Right**

It was dark outside when Thomas woke up.

He felt disorientated by the smell of clean and new in the air, the unfamiliar feel of silk sheets rubbing over his naked skin.

“Lights on,” he muttered and the room was instantly illuminated by soft yet cold light. He was lying in an unfamiliar bed with the most boring grey sheets and only sparse furniture.

It took him a moment to remember that he was no longer living in his beloved house at the forest side but an apartment provided by the government in the middle of the city. He had fallen asleep while crying over the remnants of Dummy and indeed, he was still naked except for the towel around his waist. Someone had carried him to the bed and tucked him in.

There was only one person… machine that would do this. To be completely honest with himself Thomas hadn’t even expected that much consideration from the hybrid but it made sense that Nine was programmed to look after its charge in every possible way.

Thomas flinched when the thought reminded him of their last conversation and the sex file on the hybrid’s memory drive. What other information did the hybrid possess of which Thomas had no knowledge?

As though on cue – the hybrid had probably monitored his sleeping pattern and knew he was awake now – there was a knock on the door and Nine appeared, still dressed in the same button-down and suit pants from earlier. “I hope you slept well, Thomas?”

The human nodded stiffly, defensively pulling the sheets up to cover his naked chest. The hybrid didn’t comment on it. “We should eat breakfast now, there is a council meeting set for this morning. I suppose you want to attend it?”

Thomas nodded immediately. “Of course, just go ahead. I will be with you shortly.”

Nine left the room without another word and Thomas supressed a yawn as he got out of bed, walking over to his wardrobe.

Like he had suspected the hybrid had unpacked the boxes and sorted his clothes before putting them in the closet and Thomas took out one of the suits with a sigh.

He wanted to visit Manuel in the hospital this afternoon, so they would have to come back here for lunch so he could change into something more comfortable for his visit to his friend.

Thomas hurried with his morning routine, giving up adjusting his too loose tie after ten minutes in front of the bathroom mirror. He had never been good at it, Dummy had always done this for him and occasionally Manuel.

Well, one was gone and the other in the hospital. A depressing thought.

With a sigh he made his way over towards the kitchen where his bodyguard was already waiting for him. His new companion looked at him critically before blocking his way, raising his hands towards the tie. “May I?”

Thomas just nodded, startled once again to have the hybrid so close to him. Goose bumps appeared on his skin when Nine loosened the tie and started doing it anew, long fingers flying expertly over the fabric without ever touching Thomas’ skin. The hybrids’ scent enclosed him again and he had to fight the urge to breathe it in, his own fingers jerking with the absurd wish to touch the hybrid.

Nine stepped back. “This is better, isn’t it?”

It reached to pull out the chair for him but Thomas waved it off, his voice sharper than he had intended. “No, don’t do that. You’re not my butler and I like to do things myself. Just do your job and stay out of my way.”

Nine pulled away with a frown, sitting down opposite of Thomas. “I had hoped putting you to sleep would improve your mood swings. Or are you always like this?”

Thomas glowered at it over his cup of coffee, dismayed to realize that it was exactly like he loved it – black with one spoon of sugar. Stupid, perfect hybrid. “Not usually. I just feel so powerless and angry with my situation. My favourite robot is dead, Manu is injured and in the hospital and I’m stuck with a damn hybrid now. No offense, it’s nothing personal.”

“None taken,” Nine commented dryly and took a sip of water. Only then did Thomas notice that the hybrid was also eating something and he leaned forward curiously, eying the strange looking sticks on the hybrid’s plate. “What are you eating?”

“Protein sticks,” Nine responded. “They contain all the major and minor nutrients needed to keep a human body healthy and fit.”

Thomas snorted. “Doesn’t look all that tasty though.”

Nine looked down at the sticks. “I understand the concept of taste and my tongue can pick up on them I suppose but I fail to see how taste factors into improving your health.”

Thomas shook his head disbelievingly. “What do they teach you in hybrid school?”

Nine frowned. “There is no such thing as a hybrid school. All that I know now has been programmed by Mr Guardiola and there is a folder for me to record new data through my practical experiences as well as customizing my behaviour to that of my owner.”

Thomas banged his head against the table. “This was supposed to be a joke.”

The hybrid looked a bit flustered. “My apologies. I’m not programmed to understand sarcasm and irony.”

Thomas waved his hand dismissively. “Yes, well… Just open a learning folder or whatever and we’ll add to it while we go.” When the hybrid nodded, Thomas pointed towards the pan with scrambled eggs. “How come this is so delicious if you don’t have the faintest idea of taste? By your logic you should be a disaster in the kitchen but this is quite good.”

Nine shrugged. “I downloaded all video footage from the security camera in your kitchen of the last year, did a quick face recognition to filter out the times someone else cooked for you and focused on your breakfast patterns. I divided that data through the times you cooked and the result is your average ratio per ingredient.”

Thomas stared at the hybrid, holding his fork in mid-air. “You did all of that just to find out how I liked my breakfast? You’re crazy.”

A look of hurt flashed over the hybrid’s face and Thomas clarified with an eye roll, “This was intended as a compliment by the way. I meant that you are quite dedicated.”

Nine’s frown turned into a pleased smile and Thomas almost choked on his coffee and the sheer warmth flashing through his stomach. “I’m just glad that I managed to please you, Thomas.”

The human chuckled. “Yes, you please me in rather irritating ways.”

Of course the idiot would hear his mumbled comment, its robotic super-hearing be damned. “Was that supposed to be another compliment or a complaint?”

Thomas sighed. “Both, I guess.”

He jerked when Nine suddenly straightened in its seat, eyes hollow and its voice too smooth and even. “Complaint No. 1 registered. Please state the details of the situation and your wish in regards to improvement. The program will calculate a fitting punishment for Alpha-Codec Switch-Nine to aid the learning process.”

Thomas stared at his bodyguard confused. “Hey, what is the matter with you this time?”

“You registered a complaint,” Nine explained to him. “For surveillance and research purposes all complaints will be sent to _Guardiola Technologies Inc._ and a copy stored on my hard drive. You will also get a suggestion how to punish me for my misbehaviour though you are of course welcome to adjust it to your own needs and purposes.”

“Your misbehaviour?” Thomas repeated with growing horror. “But you didn’t do anything wrong.”  
Nine looked confused now. “I must have, you said that I… please you in rather irritating ways? And that is meant as a complaint?”

Its questioning voice made it clear that the hybrid had no idea what Thomas had meant by that but it had still been willing to face the punishment. Thomas groaned. “Cancel that complaint thing, I won’t let you get punished.”

“If you don’t use my learning system, I won’t be able to improve,” Nine commented.

Thomas massaged his forehead. “You are fine the way you are. If I feel you need to learn something, we will do it without punishment, do you understand me?”

Nine inclined its head. “Learning will take place without your punishment. Understood.”

Remembering how that complaint incident had started, Thomas explained. “When I said that you irritate me, I meant that you keep infuriating me because you are so goddamn attractive.”

Nine frowned. “Do you want me to activate the sex folder?”

“No!” Thomas retorted panicked and he threw his hands up. “We are not going to have sex just because I find you attractive. An important lesson for your learning experience, both sides need to consent before they should have sex. You need to want it too.”

Nine’s frown deepened. “But to want something is a purely human emotion, one that I can never experience.”

Thomas nodded. “That’s exactly why I won’t hop into bed with you. Besides I stick with human lovers, I don’t find the thought of having sex with a robot all too appealing.”

“I am a hybrid, not a robot,” Nine corrected him almost instinctively.

“Same thing,” Thomas replied impatiently. “That body doesn’t make you any more human than machines are.”

It was hard to say whether Nine was hurt or just very curious. “Then what would make me more human?”

Thomas placed a hand above his own heart. “Feelings. Emotions. To do things because they feel right in your heart and not because someone else’s programming compels you to. Free will, that’s what humanity is all about.”

Nine didn’t argue but seemed to roll over the words in its head. The hybrid eventually pointed to the pan with the eggs. “Can I have some of those?”

Thomas pushed it over. “Of course, you made them after all.”

Nine pulled some of it onto its plate before reaching for the jar of honey. With a shocked gasp Thomas batted its hand away. “What do you think you are doing?”

Nine looked pointedly to Thomas’ plate. “You eat bread with honey as well.”

It sounded adorably defensive yet challenging at the same time. Thomas raised an eyebrow. “Yes, but separately. First the eggs, then everything else.”

Nine frowned. “I fail to see how this is important. It all comes together in your stomach.”

Thomas supressed the urge to bang his head on the table again. “It matters for the taste and that’s what you are trying to test, isn’t it?”

Nine didn’t look convinced but obediently brought a fork of the eggs into its mouth and started chewing sceptically. Thomas watched curiously, licking his lips unconsciously when he saw the hybrid’s Adam’s apple move as it swallowed.

“Well?”

Nine was still frowning. “It tastes… rich in calories.”

Thomas sighed. “That is not an actual taste. Did you like it or not?”

Nine shrugged. “I don’t know, probably. I mean my body is programmed to vomit if I swallow something that could harm me and I didn’t, so I guess I like it?”

Thomas shook his head dramatically. “I give up with you.”

Nine seemed to find his outburst amusing. “Did I irritate you again?” When Thomas grumbled his agreement, it added in a cheeky tone. “I suppose this time not because I look attractive to you?”

“I can’t quite separate that part from anything you do,” Thomas admitted resigned. “You are attractive even when you are being a giant dork.”

This time Nine seemed to have understood that it had been meant as a compliment and it smiled pleased. “But we won’t do anything about it? No sex because I can’t give proper consent?”

Thomas groaned. “Look at you, learning the important lessons of life. You are right, no sex though I have to admit it is getting harder by the minute.”

Nine’s lips twitched. “We could try one day. Just in the name of science of course.”

Thomas almost choked on his laughter. “Don’t tempt me. You are still not human.”

The rest of their breakfast passed in comfortable silence and half an hour later they were on their way to the council building.

His hybrid bodyguard had slipped back into its default grim mode, attentive eyes scanning every little corner of the streets. Thomas gave up trying to involve it into a conversation after three minutes of getting monosyllabic replies.

Once inside the building Thomas relaxed somewhat, glad to be out of the open though the sight of his new bodyguard of course attracted a few lewd glances. It was a good thing the hybrid didn’t understand their meaning, otherwise it would have probably felt intimidated. Or just confused which was more likely.

Thomas had just educated it that it wasn’t supposed to have sex with humans and now there people behaving like the exact opposite. Not ideal for a learning experience.

Thomas just shot each of them a pointed glare until they were finally in the huge council room and he could sit down.

The room had some similarities with old theatres from 300 to 400 years ago, a high-ceiling room with more than a hundred boxes lining the circular walls. Each box could be pushed to the centre of the room to act as a pulpit.

Thomas sat down on the middle chair in his box, patting the one beside him but his hybrid bodyguard kept standing, looking on guard with eyes flitting over the mass of council members.

It wasn’t hard to figure out that Nine wasn’t pleased by the structure of the room, that Thomas could be attacked from practically anyone. Thomas scowled at it. “Relax. No one is going to try anything here, this is way too obvious.”

Nine didn’t respond, its wiry body crouched forward almost threateningly. Thomas refused to acknowledge that the hybrid looked kind of hot being so protective. It wasn’t any kind of protectiveness making Nine act this way but duty.

Thomas didn't realize he had missed the introduction until Sergio’s voice was directed at him. “Thomas, my friend, I’m so glad that you are back with us today. The entire council was quite worried about you.”

Thomas inclined his head respectfully, his smile not quite genuine. “I appreciate the concern. But I didn’t want to give my attackers the victory of driving me out of the council. I am here and determined to fight harder than ever.”

Sergio nodded and his eyes drifted to the man at Thomas’ side. “I see that my gift has reached you. I wasn’t sure how you would react to it but you seem to get along quite well with this hybrid specifically designed for me.”

Hushed murmuring broke out in the room and Thomas ground his teeth angrily. “As you know quite well, I was forced to accept the council’s decision. Otherwise I wouldn’t be able to be here.”

But Sergio wasn’t even listening to him. “Quite the realistic model, Pep has outdone himself with this one. Alpha-Codec Switch-Nine, that is your identification, isn’t that correct?”

The hybrid tensed at being addressed directly. “That is true. But I listen to the name Nine now.”

The murmuring became louder and Sergio raised a mocking eyebrow towards Thomas. “Very creative name I must say, referring to your bodyguard as a number. Just like a human he is not so easily replaceable you know.”

Ah, so Sergio was trying to turn their chit-chat into another political debate. Well, two could play that game. “I beg to differ. Comparing humans and hybrids is an argument you can only lose, Sergio. As you said this hybrid was designed to your wishes and by your orders, it’s like a model where you were able to pick all your favourite parts and give them human shape. Hybrids think in the limits of their programming – programming which is set by humans. Sometimes humans have their own agenda as I sadly had to experience just a few days ago. In the wrong hands hybrids will become the ultimate weapon of destruction.”

Sergio smirked. “And who gave you the right to be the judge? What is right and wrong is different for every human, just like it therefore is for every hybrid.”

“That’s exactly my point,” Thomas retorted, unaware of the way Nine tensed up beside him. “Hybrids are not able to think for themselves, they are bound to their programming. They don’t know right from wrong and in the hands of a criminal or even a terrorist, they will do terrible things without even being aware of that, simply because they didn’t know better thanks to their programming. If we include them into society and give them human rights, they will be held to the same standards as humans.”

A second pulpit joined Sergio’s and Thomas recognized Cristiano Ronaldo taking up word to undoubtedly aid his close friend. “Right now the number of functioning hybrids is still very limited and personally overseen by Mr Guardiola. I guess the council could agree to a standard programming for every hybrid. Changes that will be made have to be approved by the council.”

Thomas snorted. “This council has more important matters to deal with than discussing about tiny program changes for every hybrid in the world. And even if we did that, all it needed was a skilled hacker to gain control over a hybrid and perhaps even alter its programming.”

Sergio nodded towards Nine. “Mr Guardiola promised me he couldn’t he hacked. He is operating on a secure self-contained server. The cobalion shell inside his body protects him not only from physical threats but keeps the server protected from cyber-attacks. It’s essentially a castle with no way to climb the wall.”

Thomas raised an eyebrow. “Let’s assume for a moment this is true. How can the hybrid access the server then if it is completely shut off from everything outside the cobalion shell?”

To everyone’s surprise it was Nine who answered his question. The clipped tone wasn’t lost on Thomas. “May I speak and enlighten you, sir?”

Sergio’s eyes lit up and he nodded his head eagerly. “Of course, Ro-, I mean, _Nine_, please do.”

“The shell isn’t just a giant, hollow ball of cobalion like you seem to imagine it but built from four different parts, like a 3D puzzle if you may. The cracks in between allow digital information to filter through and also enable me to maintain connection with the internet and some private servers like the one of _Guardiola Industries_. I constantly use the nanotechnology particles in my body and the air around me to dissolve possible digital threats and keep anyone from entering the shell.”

Thomas frowned. “You use nano parts in the air to change matter? So you use telekinesis?”

Nine nodded, eyes still trained on Sergio. “I believe that is the term, yes.”

Thomas stared at the hybrid, shaking his head in denial. “And what happens if you run out of energy somehow?”

Nine scowled at him. “I’m not sure, you understand the meaning of ‘secure’ and ‘self-operating’.

Thomas balled his hands to fists, not wanting to lose an argument against his own hybrid. “I believe that when I see it.”

“Glad we agree on something,” Cristiano intercepted and he turned expectantly towards Sergio. “I suggest we try taking him over with a government hacker. If Nine is able to withstand, we know he speaks the truth and there is no harm in letting him run around unsupervised.”

Sergio nodded thoughtfully. “Any objections, Thomas?”

“Absolutely not, just go ahead,” Thomas sneered but at the same time he felt guilty, as though he was committing a great crime. Especially when he saw the betrayed expression on Nine’s face. It was stupid, Nine was part machine and would be able to recharge without any problems.

This was an experiment and if they managed to hack the hybrid, then it would be a big win for the side opposing the inclusion of hybrids. For Thomas.

It took a few minutes to gather the right employees. Most of them seemed excited to get a chance at hacking what they considered the ‘ultimate, high-security server’.

Dozens of cables were attached to the hybrid that let it happen without moving a finger. Yet its anger was palpable, no matter how hard Thomas tried to convince himself otherwise.

Some basic _Protectors_ were wheeled in, obviously to secure the hybrid should it act out in any way.

The man apparently in charge of the hacking team turned to Sergio. “We are ready for you, sir.”

“Give it your best shot,” Sergio reminded them with a mix of grim finality and curiosity. “Attack starts in… three… two… one. Go!”

The lights went out abruptly, switching to emergency light after a second and the pulpits hummed quietly as they lost power from the energy drain.

Thomas froze as he saw Nine jerking as though it had been struck with a whip.

The supervisor turned to Sergio. “We have located the cracks and are now attempting a breakthrough.” He turned to Thomas. “It would be best if you stepped back, sir. This could get dangerous.”

Thomas took in the circle of hackers, typing wildly on the pads in their hands, all of them surrounding the hybrid like a pride of lions circling their prey. Except that the hybrid wasn’t a simple prey.

If anything Nine was more predator than any of them. Yet it just reached out and roughly pushed Thomas back – out of the fire line. Barely a second later its eyes started to glow.

Sergio looked fascinated. “What is happening to him?”

The supervisor glanced down on his display. “The hybrid is using all his energy for a lockdown and to keep us out. We are operating at sixty percent capacity now, sir.”

“More,” Sergio ordered immediately. “This is a worst case scenario, you will go up all the way to one hundred percent.”

The supervisor swallowed nervously before adjusting the bar on his display. Thomas’ heart was sinking even before he heard Nine screaming. It was such an unexpected sound, least of all from a machine that Thomas stumbled back and he was certainly not the only one startled by the reaction.

Sergio looked almost anxious now though he didn’t revoke his order.

One of the hackers gasped. “The energy bars, sir.”

The supervisor glanced down at his display again. “The charging of the hybrid’s energy bar is accelerating by five hundred percent per second.”

Sergio looked like his eyes were going to pop out of his head. “Did you say five _hundred_?!”

“Activate the protectors!” the supervisor shouted panicked. “The hybrid will attack any moment now!”

But Sergio stepped forward. “No! This entire process was to prove hybrids are not a danger to our lives. If this one manages to withstand the hacking and not attack us in the process, we have proven that point quite splendidly.”

Thomas was unable to listen any longer, eyes transfixed on that glowing point of bright white light that was the hybrid. His hybrid.

God, what had Thomas done?

“We are at eighty percent capacity,” the supervisor informed them, worry evident in his voice. “The hybrid’s energy level is at roughly three-thousand-eight-hundred percent now.”

Shock made way for wonder and from the place beside him Thomas could hear his friend Lucas whisper in awe. “Why won’t the hybrid attack? He can’t contain this much energy at once.”

As if on cue Nine’s body began to jerk violently, new screams of pain tearing up its throat but now they were accompanied by soft lightning bolts cutting through the air. Even as the sounds of obviously excruciating pain made Thomas’ stomach close up in horror, he stared in morbid fascination at the lightning dancing around the hybrid almost elegantly.

“He is releasing the energy into the room,” he whispered. “To avoid attacking us.”

The supervisor nodded. “His energy bar is going down. Just barely but if he keeps this up, he will be back to normal in a few days at most.”

Sergio growled. “Go to one hundred percent capacity, I want to see him dealing with it.”

The supervisor paled. “But sir, he has trouble handling his energy already. He could attack us after all if we…”

“Now!” Sergio ordered and Thomas’ cry of protest was swallowed by the loud hum of the machines as they focused all their possible capacity at Nine.

The hybrid’s scream cut off, the bolts of lightning dancing lightly across Thomas ‘ skin and making him flinch at the discomfort then it was all over.

There was a loud boom, and then it was dark.

Thomas’ heart skipped a beat when he saw the hybrid lying on the ground but the bolts were still there, dancing playfully along the hybrid’s skin. Instead everything else had died down, the lights in the room and all the computers, displays and machines.

The heavy silence of dead machines settled in the large room.

“Well?” Sergio asked curiously.

The supervisor’s face was unreadable in the dark, only illuminated by the soft light of the pad in his hand. “His walls have remained intact, we couldn’t break through. To be honest I still don’t know why he didn’t lash out at us but he did crash our entire server, so I guess you have your answer. Sir.”

Sergio laughed, sounding genuinely pleased. “This is good news. See, Thomas, this proves my point. The security of our data is assured, as is the security of our lives.”

But Thomas couldn’t reply to that. Slowly he stepped forward, crouching down beside the hybrid. As soon as his hand touched Nine’s shoulder, a jolt went through the body and glowing blue eyes settled on him.

The resentment in them burned like acid.

“Are you okay?” Thomas asked, his voice thick with worry and guilt.

But the hybrid just shrugged off his hand rather harshly, standing up on shaky legs. The scent of a machine running too hot as well as burnt hair surrounded him, not to mention the soft bolts dancing continuously around him as he apparently tried to find a subtle outlet for the energy he had been forced to take. His voice was dripping with barely concealed anger when he turned to Sergio. “I’m glad my performance could please use, sir. Can I seek your permission for Thomas and myself to leave right away? I doubt you can continue your council meeting since I just crashed your server.”

Sergio grinned brightly and Thomas felt a sharp surge going through him. “Indeed. You may both leave for now, we will continue this discussion once we are back online. I declare this meeting finished for now.”

Loud murmuring and noises broke through the suffocating quiet as the council members hurried to leave the room, most of them breaking out into discussions right away.

Thomas felt completely thrown though, barely reacting to Lucas’ attempts to involve him into a conversation. His mind hadn’t quite registered yet that his party had just suffered a major loss. His eyes were instead glued to Nine, watching him hold on to the railing of their box, a low hum emanating from his body as he sent a particular thick jolt through the metal surface.

Thomas had fucked up big time.

He watched anxiously as Nine strode out of the dark room and back into the corridor. Thomas followed him after a moment, noting that the glass windows were shaking in their frames as the hybrid passed them.

By the time they had reached a vacated room and Nine had leaned forward, bracing himself on the desk, Thomas had worked up the courage to speak.

“Nine, I’m so sorry…”

“NO!” the hybrid shouted and whirled around with a murderous expression on his face. The lamp above them burst in a rain of shards, causing Thomas to flinch violently. He couldn’t remember ever being this terrified of his half-human bodyguard. “You don’t get to speak to me as though everything is fine! I don’t care if you choose to punish me, you have every right to do that after what I will tell you but if you want to know why I’m so angry, then you will get the full explanation!”

He stepped closer and Thomas could actually feel the waves of danger vibrating off him even without the other lamps in the room flickering like in an old ghost story flick.

Nine’s voice could have smashed stones with their hardness. “Never have I been treated with so little respect as you treated me today. You let them hurt me, Thomas! I might not understand emotions like a human can but I still feel them and what I felt today was pain. Not even during my conditioning with my Master Guardiola have I felt pain like this before. And why? Just so you could prove a point in your political battle. You lost that battle but if you are not careful then you will lose so much more, the things that make you different from my kind. Your humanity.”

Thomas felt like he had stumbled into a nightmare and without thinking he reached out for the hybrid’s shoulder. But Nine took a big step back, evading the touch and Thomas hand stopped mid-air. “I never meant for them to hurt you, I didn’t know what they would do to you.”

They hybrid just laughed without any humour in it, the sound cold and so shrill that it seemed to echo in the room. “If it was Manu in my place, you wouldn’t have even let it come this far.”

And Thomas couldn’t argue that point. The mere possibility that Manuel might get hurt would have called for him to stop this experiment. But because this male… this _man_ was a hybrid, Thomas hadn’t stood up for him. It was as shockingly simple as that.

“I’m sorry,” he whispered.

The hybrid turned away, the anger draining from his voice in favour of more pain. “I’m sorry too then.”

Thomas eyed the glass shards around them and how rigid the hybrid’s back still was. “Do you want me to leave you alone for a minute?”

“Tempting offer,” the hybrid replied sharply. “But I can’t leave. It is my job to protect you and I will not neglect my only purpose to stay in your services.”

Thomas swallowed, feeling powerless against the wall that had built up between them. He deserved this, he knew that. “I wanted to visit Manu after the council meeting. I haven’t seen him since the attack.”

The hybrid ground his jaw in renewed anger but nodded stiffly. “We need to get back to your house first. I assume that you will want to change into more appropriate clothes and I need to get rid of all that power inside of me.” He suddenly looked at Thomas sharply. “Do you want me to get some flowers on our way back?”

Thomas frowned. “Flowers? For what?”

“For your… friend obviously,” the hybrid replied in a strange tone. “According to my programming humans use flowers to convey their feelings for a special person. Roses or Orchids are a good way to apologize.”

Thomas was a bit stunned that they had come from a rather terrifying fight to flowers in a matter of seconds. He nodded slowly. “Orchids sound good to me.”

Nine nodded and he turned back the way they had come from, accompanying Thomas like a glowering shadow. Even now that he was no longer busting glass bulbs and spitting ice splinters as well as sparks of blue fire from his eyes, the aura of danger surrounding him was so thick that everyone in the building immediately gave a wide berth upon seeing them.

It dawned on Thomas as he climbed into the car with his dark shadow right behind him that he had stopped referring to the hybrid as ‘it’.

Well, Nine had certainly proven that he was much more man than any member of the council, including Thomas.

**Author's Note:**

> Please leave feedback for the author. :-)


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